“Show and Tell”: Sant’Oreste, Lazio

Italy “Show and Tell” is a weekly series published on Sundays where invited guests share 6 of their favorite photos from their trip to Italy or life in Italy, along with a short description.

This week, we’re taking you way off the tourist trail with Pete from LazioExplorer sharing 6 of his favorite photos from Sant’Oreste, Lazio. So where’s Sant’Oreste? Read on to find out. I personally love the towns in Lazio and Pete uncovers many of them on the blog. You can also follow him on twitter @lazioexplorer.

6 Favorite Photos of Sant’Oreste, Lazio

One of the best things about Italy is the feeling that most of it is still undiscovered. Of course, there are the tourist must-sees – Rome, Florence, the Colosseum, the Vatican. But what about ‘real’ Italy, the off-the-beaten track Italy? There’s always more to see. For me, approximately 40km north of Rome, combining nature, history, religion, and indeed, a new shopping outlet, Sant’Oreste is my real Italy.

1. Sant’Oreste is a lovely hill-top town perched on the shoulders of Monte Soratte. It’s also where my in-laws live, and the place I visit most in Italy. This is the promenade, where the locals fanno la passeggiata on the way up to my favorite bar, where you can find the best coffee in all of Italy…

Town of Sant’Oreste perched on the shoulders of Monte Soratte

2. Sant’Oreste is a world unto itself. With approximately 3,800 souls, Sant’Oreste stands above the surrounding plains. The fiercely proud locals even speak their own language, Sant’Orestese.

The view of Sant’Oreste from Monte Soratte.

3. Rising to 691m, Monte Soratte can feel cut off from the rest of the world. The majority of Monte Soratte is a nature reserve, cloaked in deciduous trees and steep ravines. It also is home to Meri, which are sinkholes or pits, which can be up to 115 meters deep. There are a number of walks around or up the mountain, which are rewarded with great views. There’s also a monastery and the ruins of two churches (that are mentioned by Dante).

Rewarded with great views!

4. La chiesa di San Lorenzo. Despite it’s size, Sant’Oreste has a number of churches. This is the main church, and is where we were married.

La chiesa di San Lorenzo

5. The medieval old town is all winding streets and picturesque views. Amazingly, the locals manage to drive down to their houses. It’s notable how no one in Sant’Oreste drives a SUV.

Winding streets of Sant’Oreste

6. Sant’Oreste isn’t all about the distant past. There’s the recent past too. Between 1937 and 1944, Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, ordered the excavation of over 4km of tunnels into Monte Soratte as an ammunition store.

German troops under the command of General Field-Marshall Kesselring used the tunnels and bunkers as a hiding place for around 10 months, between 1943 and 1944, as the allies subjected the whole area to heavy bombing.

After falling into disuse, the tunnels were re-employed in 1967 as, at the height of the Cold War, they were transformed into an anti-atomic bunker for the Italian Prime Minister, in the advent of a nuclear war. They are now being opened up as a tourist attraction (http://www.bunkersoratte.it/home.html).

Tunnels and bunkers

Thanks Pete for being part of Italy “Show and Tell” and taking us to a hidden gem in Lazio. I’ve visited Sant’Oreste and hiked Monte Soratte which makes for a fun day trip from Rome.

Have you been to Sant’Oreste? Which are your favorite towns in Lazio?